


Beyond The Glass

by ThatGirlJaneFox



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), The Handmaid's Tale (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Handmaid's Tale Fusion, Broken, Crime Fighting, Established Relationship, Fight for Freedom, Fighting for love, Gilead- AU, Gotham in Gilead, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Multi, Polyamory, Romantic love, Threesome - F/M/M, escape plots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:00:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGirlJaneFox/pseuds/ThatGirlJaneFox
Summary: There were others. There were Them. There was Mayday.We are not Mayday. We fight with those inside. I fight with the men I love. And we will get as many women and children out as we can. To safety.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Original Female Character(s), Raven/Damian Wayne, Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s), past Barbara Gordon/ Dick Grayson
Kudos: 9





	1. Five Martha's

The air was still, thick and palpable as I trekked away from the ram-shackle plane that had dropped me at the border. I secured my hiking back pack, ensuring the clips were fixed firmly against my chest. Every time we made this run, I hoped I would never need any of the supplies inside but even with our _Red Eye_ in the sky some escapees ended up wounded. Some never made the flight back to salvation; more were killed outright on journey to meet with us.

But I didn’t let my mind dwell on such facts. If I did, I’m sure I’d drive myself mad. I had to believe our hands on the inside were doing everything they had to, to survive. They were some of the strongest people I knew, fighting for the greater good, even in this godforsaken hell. A hell that tore families to shreds; hell that tore _our_ family apart. Even in the _days before_ my relationship was unconventional, but times were moving towards acceptance.

My train of thought was severed by bickering over the comm’s that Oracle had engineered for us. Powerful little gadgets they were. They allowed us to keep in contact with our inside hands, keep up to date with their movements. But something had irritated our pilot and mechanic and she felt the need to voice it.

“For fucks sake, Hood! You can’t just drop another two bodies on us at a moment’s notice! That’s no how this goes!” Her voice was strong and commanding, that of a military leader. I think she was one in the past, but she spoke so rarely of it and avoided questions with jokes and sarcasm. We did know she was originally from the Scottish highlands, some tiny little hamlet with a name none of us could ever get our colonial tongues around.

“Calm the fuck down, _Jackie Stewart_. You said that bucket of bolts can take up to eight people, we’re just filling you to capacity.” Red Hood’s voice was just as I remembered it, if slightly muffled by the helmet he wore to disguise who he really was. It was rough and choked by too much whisky and too many cigarettes and still sent a tingle down my spine as I moved silently through the thick, forest growth.

"Y'now he was a racin’ driver, right? No a pilot!” The thick Scot’s accent barked, taking me back to my task at hand.

“Yeah, I’m aware. But you’re our very own _Flying Scot_!” Red Hood chucked and I could hear our pilot growl under her breath. “I think _Jackie_ is a very suitable name for ya!”

"Fuck you, Hood!” Her voice was scathing and dark.

“Will the both of you shut the fuck up?! This line is to keep an eye on how things are going! Not for you two to spout your poison!” Thank goodness for Oracle and her strong head, keeping us on point.

I said a mental thank you to her as the comm’s went silent. I brushed aside the thick branches that kept our little meeting place hidden. The forest was a tangled mess of thick limbs and knotted branches, left to return to its original state. It took a trained eye to navigate. Prior to this, I never thought I’d possess any of the necessary skills to manage such a trek; but Gilead had of way of forcing you to reach inside yourself, to reach for things you never knew you had in you. I still would have gladly lived the rest of my life without learning this and many other _particular_ skills.

I made my way into the clearing, thankful for the covering of trees, even though it meant I couldn’t see the starry sky. I tried not to let it bother me because if I couldn’t see up _they_ couldn’t see down. At least for the moment until we moved on, scoped out another route before any of us got caught.

“Hey there, doc.” That voice. That smoky, unintentionally sultry voice I still loved with all my heart.

“Hood.” I allowed myself to say. “Are ‘Wing and the other’s far?”

He stepped towards me and took a deep breath. He was so close, I was sure he could smell me. I could smell him. Gunpower and pine from the forest that surrounded us with that undercurrent of tobacco and sweat. I wanted to bury my face in that smell, in _him_. He moved closer, almost looming over me. He raised a hand and softly ghosted my cheek with his gloved fingers. I could _almost_ feel it. I bit back a moan, my natural reaction to feeling his hands on me- near me.

As if he’d stepped over some imaginary line, Red Hood pulled back, pushing a distance between us.

“He’ll be here soon. B and Rob are caught up with some Eyes, despite all of Red’s hard work.” Hood coughed and further distanced himself from me. We hadn’t seen one another since our first run, the first time we got people out. This was now our fifth.

Five months. The lack of contact created a boundary all of its own.

“Okay. Should we be worried?” I asked nervously. My supplies were all medical, quick fixes until we could get back to safety and I could do my job properly.

“Nah, they’re still on the city outskirts. ‘Wing and I will help out once you get out of here.”

I gave Red Hood the smallest of smiles. I could almost _hear_ his under his helmet. I hated this so much. One of the men I’d tried to build a life with forcing himself to stay at arm’s length. We both knew it was for good reason and that one day, the three of us would be together again if we survived.

“Elsie, I-” Red Hood was cut off by the rustling and crunching of the under growth. He whipped his gun from his holster and immediately stepped in front of me, protecting me.

The pair of us relaxed when we saw that flash of blue in the darkness, accompanied by several tired footsteps. Nightwing and the five Martha’s.

“Took ya long enough.” Red Hood snapped as he lowered his gun.

“Sorry, Guardians. Had to lose them but they’re not far behind.” Nightwing panted as he caught his breath, clearing way for the shaken women.

I jumped to gather them together, running my eyes over the five.

“Are any of you hurt?” I asked as I reached to unclip my backpack.

Then, several loud shots fired in the distance. We all whipped our heads in the terrifying sounds direction. I started to usher the women towards the trail before I turned to Red Hood again.

To my surprise and delight, he lunged forward and gripped my arms, holding me closer than he ever had in the last dreadful year.

“We’ll hold them off. I’ll be fine, _Red_ will be fine. We love you.” Red Hood leaned in, placing his helmet atop my head, mimicking a kiss.

Then he and Nightwing were gone. Rushing off into the distance to ensure our escape. I moved quickly, following the women I had sent off into the night. I barked directions at them from behind. Even if I was caught, there would still be a chance they could get out.

But I would get out. Even if not physically. I carried a gun for that reason. I refused to go back into sexual servitude.

I could hear the ringing of bullets behind us, the crunching of the brush and snapping of branches. My heart was pounding in my throat. I was determined we’d make it. We had to.

I saw the old oak with the ugly, oversized knot at its centre. The marker.

“Hey, Jackie Stewart, fire up the engines!” I gasped into the comm. I could feel my lungs restricting, cutting off the oxygen flow as I ran behind the five women. I thought that I’d become far fitter but clearly not. The toile of a restricted diet and exercise, I told myself. I used to be so fit, athletic and an avid runner. Granted climbing through the wilderness was never my forte but still...

“Well, fuck, I’m glad that’s catching on! Firing up, doc!” I heard the engines begin to roar. Not just over the comm but off in the distance. We were going to make it.

I yelled for the five women to keep running, that we were close. If they could just will themselves a little further. Knock a few more branches out of their faces, take a couple more scrapes to their limbs.

Then she fell. The youngest among the five. She couldn’t have been more than twenty. I urged the others to keep going as the plane was just in sight. I scooped the young woman from the dirt and foliage and dusted her down.

“Can you move?” I asked quickly.

The young girl nodded, locking eyes with me ever so briefly. They were dark, tired and brown. Her lashes and brows blended with the ivory hue of her skin. She looked broken; broken in a way I knew. She was no Martha. This young girl, this forced woman, was a Handmaiden. We shared so much in that single glance. I was even more determined. I helped her move, pushed her in front of me as we emerged to the field where our tiny ship lay waiting.

I spied her in the cockpit, our pilot. I gave the tiniest nod to her and forced the girl before me to move faster. She reached the side stairs and clambered her way up. I stood in awe just for a moment. How someone so young could endure so much and still find that fight, that human will to live. It was beautiful.

As the bullets sounded and I felt them whir I jumped forward to the stairs. I used all of my strength to climb aboard. I lay on the miniscule walkway while we took off. My rungs felt red raw and I wasn’t sure if it was the run, the adrenaline or knowing that both my men were safe. They were both alive.

I forced myself to my feet, looking out the small window to the gathering of Guardian’s and Eyes below us. They shot at us, hoping their guns could take down Mary’s handiwork. Our pilot would never bring us into danger without knowing we could escape in her vessel.

_Jackie Stewart, eat your heart out._

I pressed myself to the double thick glass, looked down, and did as so many others before me. I held up my middle finger and hoped they would see it. 


	2. Necessary Lies

The journey back to our safe haven was a pleasantly smooth one. Not that I should have been surprised by that, our pilot was fantastic at her job given what she had to work with. I watched her as she brought us in for landing. The way her mass of red curls resembled wildfire, unruly and untameable. How her pale skin shone through her many freckles in the moon light. But she wasn’t delicate. She had strong shoulders and powerful legs with calves that would have made Henry the VIII weep. She would have been more suited to the cross country dash, I was sure, but only she could keep our _tin can_ in the air.

“Comin’ in, O. You ladies buckled in back there?” Mary called to us.

“Yeah, all secure, Mare.” I glanced around before looking out the scratched up window, seeing our tiny runway coming closer and closer.

I could feel myself thinking back, back to a far happier time. I remembered it so clearly. The last time we were truly happy.

We had gone away for the weekend, just the three of us- Jason, Tim and I. Bruce had given us permission to use his lake house. Not that Jason would have waited to get the all clear; he just wanted us to disappear together for a while. I could still see his enthusiasm when chopping up the wood for the fire. He was all show and bravado but he did an excellent job. He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up and forced me to sit back down. He told me that I worked too hard and this get away was for us all to relax. I reminded him that I hadn’t done any real work in months. Not since the hospital _let go_ of all female doctors.

He and Tim both said it wouldn’t be long before I was back at it. Back in my practice and doing what I loved. But we women were not supposed to be educated, not anymore. It didn’t matter how good I was or how hard I worked or how many lives I’d saved.

I remember how Tim built the fire with his extreme sense of precision and that Jason had made fun of him for fussing over something that would soon turn to ash. Tim said that it didn’t matter how quickly the fire would burn his work just that Jason and I were worth it. Worth the extra energy to show how he cared. The three of us huddled into one another amidst a pile of blankets and throw pillows. I could feel how their fingers lingered on my skin, how they intertwined and caressed.

If I focused really hard I was sure I could still smell that fire as it raged beside us and hear the way the logs cracked and splintered. I remembered being fearful of the sparks catching the blankets or our bare skin, but my men’s lips chased all those fears away. I adored our kisses. Not just our one to ones but our shared kisses that made me feel like I was flying. The taste of them and how well we all mixed together.

Tim had bit Jason’s lip that night a little harder than usual. He knew how wild it drove him. The way he growled turned my spine to jelly. Jason used his fingers on Tim, to prepare him for the act before he lay on his back and Tim straddled his hips. I balanced myself of Jason’s face and both Tim and I cried out in sheer pleasure. I could still feel the burn of the powerful kiss Tim captured me in while Jason had one hand on each of our thighs to keep us going in that beautiful rhythm. The way our tongues and bodies tangled as we made love.

I never wanted to leave. I could have stayed in that beautiful mess forever, blissed out, fucked out and loved.

I was jolted back to reality by our plane coming into contact with the ground. Mary let out a loud, triumphant ‘ _Whooop!’_ and the five women accompanying us began to cheer and cry.

“ _Congratulations you guys! Stand by, I’ve called the authorities._ ” Oracle- Barbara- chanted over the crackling radio Mary had only just got working again.

We descended into the hanger hearing the sirens off in the distance. I half smiled at Barbara as she made her way out from the battered excuse we had for a control room, several blankets and a full thermos and plastic cups on her lap. Mary was first over to her, planting a sweet and tender kiss on Barbara’s lips. I watched her wild hair curl with Barbara’s, the different hues of red and orange complimenting each other so perfectly.

“You should have been more careful Mare. How many times did you get hit?” Barbara’s voice wobbled for a second. You’d have to really know her to hear it but it was there.

“What’s life without a lil’ danger, eh?” Mary winked and placed a kiss on Barbara’s head. Mary grabbed the thermos out of her lap and walked at pace with her lover towards myself and the women.

They were all shaking, completely visible even under their thick, woollen clothes.

“That’s not the point and you know it. This operation doesn’t work without you or Elsie.” Barbara cocked an irritated brow at Mary, clearly annoyed by her flippancy.

“I think you’d jist miss me!” Mary laughed loudly and showed her beautiful smile. Her cheeks dimpled and her pale, almost iridescent, blue eyes lit up.

“I’m not saying I _wouldn’t_.” Barbara reached up and grabbed on to Mary’s free hand. "I'm saying be more careful."

“I’ll always come back ti you, Bab’s. Promise.” Mary knelt down beside her and kissed her fingers.

I would have cried at their display of affection if I had any tears left to give. I felt tiny, shaking fingers grip at my arm. I turned to the youngest woman, the now former Handmaid, as she took her first breaths of freedom.

“Wha- what happens now?” She stammered and pulled me closer.

“Now the Canadian authorities will come and take you somewhere safe. Help you find any family. Don’t worry; we’ll never let you go back there.” I said in the strongest voice I could. I looked into her dark brown eyes and saw my words were just that- _words_. “My name is Elsie Naslen. I was a Handmaiden too. Trust me, you’re free.”

I should have said physically free. The mental scars would never fade.

***

I found myself deep in thought again when Mary and Barbara joined me in our living space. It was built underneath our hanger and contained several sleeping quarters, a thrown together kitchen and some semblance of an emergency operating theatre where I could patch together casualties of the journey. It reminded me of the field theatres one would find in a war zone. Just the basics for the little I could do without full anaesthetic.

I had always wanted to join _Doctors without Borders_ but always found excuses not to. I suppose I was truly living it now.

“Oi, ya a’right there, Els?” Mary asked as she helped Barbara manoeuvre her way from her chair to the one of the old couches we had acquired.

“Yeah, yeah. Just getting a little lost in memories.” I half smiled as I looked over to them.

My eyes followed their movements. It was beautiful to see how comfortable they were with each other; to see that love could still find a way to blossom in this nightmare we were living.

“Aye, well jist remember ti come back. We need that big brain o’ yours.” Mary winked and pulled Barbara into her slender yet strong arms. Barbara chuckled slightly under her breath as she twisted Mary’s curls over her shoulder and leaned in.

“In reality all you need is a semi talented pair of hands and a fast runner. I’m sure a trained monkey could do what I do!” I joked and ran my hands through my unwashed hair.

“Well, a trained monkey would be less o’ a pain in the arse!” Mary laughed, “But, ya attract far less flies!”

We shared a simple laugh.

“Really, Els, are you okay?” Barbara asked from the nook in Mary’s neck. She curled her fingers in the green and black plaid sleeves of Mary’s open shirt.

“I will be. I’m just... worried.” I sighed. I looked into Barbara’s brilliant blue eyes. “Can you- I mean, do you have any contact with Tim? It’s been so long since I’ve heard anything... other than he’s alive.”

Barbara shifted out of Mary’s embrace and shared a look with her. Mary chewed on her lower lip for a moment before standing and walking towards me. She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“I’ll leave you two ti it.” Was all she said before walking away. “I’ll be in the hanger. Jist gimme a shout if ya need mi!”

My eyes must have shown my panic because Barbara moved swiftly back into her chair and pushed herself towards me. She placed two hands on my trembling knees and rubbed soft circles into them. My heart was, once again, in my throat.

“Yes, I’ve heard from him. He has a subwave network, that’s how we can communicate with Dick and the other’s when we’re getting people out. He connects here and we’re all linked.”

“So..? What? It’s not safe for him to talk?” I was blinking trying to get my head around it.

“It’s a little of that, yes. But...” She stopped herself.

“What?” I sounded demanding. I sounded like that more and more these days.

“He’s only so high up- infiltrating the Eyes- now because...” Barbara bit the inside of her cheek before she locked her eyes with me again, “Elsie, he was issued a woman not long after you got out. Some way to _test his loyalty_ I suppose. He’s-”

“Married.” I gasped. The pain shot through my whole being and made me physically ache. I could feel my stomach churning and its contents threatening to climb its way up my throat. I was burning. I felt my head go forward and Barbara caught me in her hands.

“I’m so sorry, Elsie. I really am.” She cradled my head in her hands, softly stroking my roughly tied up locks. The bun that had been neat now fraying and untangling, the foliage of Gilead most likely still caught in it.

I believe I howled more than cried. The noise surpassed the building lump of sickness and screeched into Barbara’s lap.

“I think it was the only way to keep him...” Barbara held me tight. “Jason didn’t take it well either. But remember, hun, it’s Gilead. We do what we can to _survive_.”

I don’t remember falling asleep, or rather, passing out. When I came to, I was in my bed and still in my clothes. I looked up to ceiling and sobbed. 

_I guess I still have tears left to shed._

Was that a comfort? I didn't know. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback please :) I'd like to know how this reads or if it even works aha!  
> All my love,  
> -Fox.xx

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! I've been planning this for a while and I would love feedback.


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